Colts Trim Roster to Final 53; Continue Tweaks

Aug 18, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano during the second half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Indianapolis Colts defeat the New York Giants 20-12. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Over the weekend, the Colts (and every other NFL team) made their final cuts to get rosters down to the maximum of 53 players.

Almost immediately after setting the roster, the Colts made moves to sign players off the waiver wire and are continuing to tweak the roster. It appears that GM Ryan Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano are not quite satisfied with what they have right now.

Here is the roster as it stands today (and a rough depth chart as well):

Quarterback: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck

Running back: Ahmad Bradshaw, Vick Ballard, Donald Brown (rookie Kerwynn Williams initially made the roster, but was cut to make room for a player picked up off waivers)

Fullback: Stanley Havili

Wide receiver: Reggie Wayne, Darrius Heyward-Bey, TY Hilton, LaVon Brazill, Griff Whalen, David Reed

Tight end: Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, Justice Cunningham, Jack Doyle (Williams waived to make room for Doyle)

Offensive Line: Anthony Castonzo, Gosder Cherilus, Khaled Holmes, Jeff Linkenbach, Mike McGlynn, Joe Reitz, Samson Satele, Donald Thomas, Hugh Thornton

Defensive Line: Josh Chapman, Ricky Jean-Francois, Aubrayo Franklin, Montori Hughes, Ricardo Mathews, Fili Moala, Cory Redding

Linebackers: Robert Mathis, Erik Walden, Bjoern Werner, Caesar Rayford, Pat Angerer, Jerrell Freeman, Kavell Conner, Mario Harvey, Kelvin Sheppard

Cornerbacks: Vontae Davis, Greg Toler, Darius Butler, Cassius Vaughn, Josh Gordy

Safeties: Antoine Bethea, LaRon Landry, Sergio Brown, Delano Howell, Joe Lefeged

Special Teams: Adam Vinatieri, Pat McAfee, Matt Overton

The Colts also traded for linebacker Cam Johnson from the San Francisco 49ers for a conditional pick. It is still unclear who will be cut to make room for him.

Practice Squad:

OLB Daniel Adongo; C Thomas Austin; QB Chandler Harnish; TE Dominique Jones; LB Josh McNary; CB Sheldon Price

The Colts also signed WR Da’Rick Rogers to the PS. Rogers was a highly touted college recruit who ultimately failed a number of drug tests at Tennessee and had to transfer. He’s 6-3, 205 pounds and has all the skills to be a quality NFL receiver. He just needs to get a handle on his off the field issues.

Here are my thoughts on the cuts:

• Cutting Williams for Boyle is a bit of a surprise. The Colts need depth at TE but Boyle isn’t a vet and he needs work. He’s more of a blocking tight end and won’t be very useful in the passing game. Williams wasn’t that impressive in the preseason, but was that him or the offensive line? Its unclear, but he didn’t exactly play his way onto the roster.
• Carrying four running backs would have been a bit much, but two of them (Bradshaw and Brown) have a significant history of injury. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them ended up on IR at some point.
• Why was Ben Ijalana cut? Yes, he had back-to-back ACL injuries but he has a huge upside and was looked very productive in limited snaps in the preseason. Now the Colts are really thin at tackle with just Joe Reitz and Jeff Linkenbach as backups (slams head into desk).
• Rayford and Howell are examples of how to make a roster. They played their butts off in the preseason and were rewarded for it. Whether or not they can contribute in the regular season will be an entirely different matter, but they made too many plays to get cut.
• Most of the Bill Polian era draft picks are gone, but that shouldn’t reflect as poorly on him. Drake Nevis is perfect for a 4-3 defensive line, but doesn’t work in this scheme. Ijalana suffered two ACL injuries. Every GM misses on picks, but the Colts cutting ties with some of these guys has less to do with talent and more to do with how they fit the current system. Nevis and Ijalana were immediately signed off waivers by the Chargers and Jets respectively.
• If Cunningham is supposed to be the blocking tight end, why sign Doyle off waivers from the Titans? Yes, he’s from Indianapolis (Cathedral grad) but that doesn’t mean much in the NFL. The word from Tennessee is that Doyle is a very good player who didn’t fit with the Titans, but we shall see.

Its highly unlikely that the Colts are done making moves. They still need to cut someone for Johnson and its possible that Williams will make the practices squad if he clears waivers (if).

Don’t forget to follow us on twitter, @InkOnIndy.